Last year, Apuzzi was the No. 1 seed at 182 pounds, but dropped a 12-5 decision to Nottingham’s Jancel Nunez in the title match.

This season, Apuzzi was seeded third at 195, behind Allentown’s Frank Juba and Steinert’s River Ullrich, but came away with the county championship Saturday at Robbinsville High School.

Apuzzi pinned his way to the MCT title and was named the event’s Outstanding Wrestler by both the Trentonian and the tourney’s coaches. He stopped Trenton’s Michael Whittington in 1:44 in the quarterfinals, the previously undefeated Ullrich in 3:14 in the semis and Juba, the defending MCT champ, in 1:55 for the championship.

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“I definitely gained a lot from my experience in the tournament last year,” said Apuzzi, who is 17-1. “The tough match in the final last year definitely helped to motivate me for this tournament.”

Apuzzi knew nothing about Juba prior to the tournament and had limited knowledge of Ullrich from having wrestled with him in some practices. But this being the MCT, he knew all he really needed.

“I just knew they were going to be tough kids,” Apuzzi said. “I just had to stay focused and get the job done.”

Apuzzi, who lived in Plainsboro before moving to Princeton several years ago, was Lawrenceville Prep’s lone finalist and sent the Big Red faithful home happy with his title victory. The squad had four third-place finishers and ended up sixth in the team standings.

“I just took advantage of the situation I was in,” Apuzzi said about his bout against Juba. “He kept getting in on shots and I was kind of fighting him off. And then an opportunity opened up where I could stick in the near-side cradle, and I got it.”

Apuzzi has been wrestling since an early age and the sport is in his blood.

“My mom’s side of the family has been into wrestling for a while,” Apuzzi said. “My grandpa wrestled, and all three of my uncles wrestled and they were good wrestlers. I used to roll around with them when I was younger and getting into it. That’s how it all started.”

And it all finished on Saturday with a county championship. No need to worry about the seeds.